The Wonderland Journal

Miles hiked: 20? We blue blazed the trail. Mile marker: 205.7 It got down to 33.7 degrees last night here at Strawberry Camp. Cowboy camping? Not good.  My legs are damp with… sweat? Condensation? I don’t really know. I shiver as I deflate my pad and try to modestly put…

Miles hiked: 19? We went off the red line to blue blaze a side quest so I can’t be sure.  Mile marker: 182.1 Our day begins with a sunrise over a city and a really long trek up some switchbacks. The trail didn’t used to be this way, Dad says.…

Miles hiked: 18.4 Mile marker: 169.2 It’s 6:00 AM. Dad, Rafiki, and I are sitting at a cozy coffee shop called Pure Bean Coffee House. I order a drip coffee and have my eyes on the blueberry lemon scone, but settle for the cranberry coffee cake instead. The barista recommended…

Miles: Zero Nature calls in the early morning, and it’s the first time I step out of my tent in the middle of the night.  The dark sky is lit with stars, as is someone brought in Bob Ross just for the 3:00 AM bathroom break. Absolutely beautiful.  I blow…

Miles hiked: 21 Mile marker: 151.8 It’s early in the morning when I awake to the galaxy painted above me. A mosquito buzzes around me and I throw my jacket over my face to try and sleep. My alarm won’t go off for a while. While cowboy camping is absolutely…

Miles hiked: 19.5 Mile marker: 132 I’ve been awake for about twenty minutes before my alarm goes off at 5:00 AM. The morning chill is in my tent as I pack my bag and get ready for the day. Packing is becoming a little easier. I eat my cold-soaked oatmeal…

Miles hiked: 21.3 Mile marker: 112.5 Cowboy camping, while it provides beautiful stargazing, also provided with a very bright moon. I was awake before midnight and a few more times after. It may have had something to do with the slope that had my head slightly higher than my feet. …

Miles hiked: 13.9 Mile marker: 91.2 It’s 6:00 AM. The hotel room is still dark. A dim light shines on Dad’s face from FarOut, the app we use for navigating the trail. He is lying in bed. On the floor at the foot of my bed, Rafiki is sound asleep. …

Miles hiked: 13.4 Mile Marker: 76.3 This day begins at 2:45 AM. I can’t sleep. I become a rotisserie chicken, tossing and turning, pausing to journal, then eventually falling asleep at 4:30 AM after I hear Dad get in and out of his tent.  Alarm rings at 5:00 AM. Of…

Miles hiked: 22.24 Mile Marker: 61.5 “Katy, you ready yet?” I hear Dad through my ear plugs. Ready? How can I be ready? It’s 6:00 AM and Dad and I agreed to wake up an hour earlier.  “You didn’t wake me up!” I say.  “You have an alarm clock,” Dad…

Miles hiked: 22.12 Mile marker: 41.5 It’s 5:00 AM when I hear, “Hello? Hello?” Dad is singing, and it carries through my ear plugs. We stayed at a campground full of RV campers, so it was on the noisier end last night.  Looking around inside my tent, I see my…

Miles hiked: 21 miles  Mile marker: 20 miles Day one begins with the most amazing walnut pancakes, a cup of black coffee, and a very cold morning.  When it comes to pancakes, I’m not always the biggest fan. If you add walnuts and top it with banana slices, syrup, and…